Thirteen months after becoming Bay FC’s first-ever player, Alex Loera is leaving the club via trade.
Bay FC sent Loera to Utah in a deal Wednesday for $25,000 in intra-league transfer fees and a 15% sell-on fee, the team announced.
Loera was named Bay’s captain in the 2024 preseason but played only four matches in the team’s inaugural season before she suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her knee during a late-April match against Kansas City, her former team. She had previously missed a match due to an “internal club matter.”
The central midfielder started all four matches she played, scoring a goal against Seattle in an April 14 win.
“I’m very thankful to (former Bay general manager) Lucy Rushton for valuing me enough, both as a person and player, to sign me as the first player in history,” Loera wrote in a goodbye Instagram post. “I’m excited and so ready for something different – this has been a very long, eye opening year & I’m more than ready for something new with Utah.”
Loera, 25, joined Bay FC via a November 2023 trade from Kansas City in the weeks before the club’s expansion draft. She had previously made a name for herself in the Bay Area as the captain of the 2021 Santa Clara team that won the NCAA championship, being named the defensive player of the tournament.
“As the first player ever announced to Bay FC’s roster, her legacy will always be a part of Bay FC,” said Bay FC interim sporting director Matt Potter. “We want to thank Alex for her time with the club, even after her season-ending injury as she continued to be a key part of our group off the field all season.”